fbpx

Maharashtrian Aamti

by Posted on
In my mom’s house, we call this aamti – “Kusum tai’s aamti”. Smt. Kusumtai Kshirsagar, was an elderly neighbour of ours in Kalyan when I was a little girl. She always used to give us a vaati  (bowl) of this aamti whenever she prepared it. Being South Indians, we hardly ever made this Maharashtrian aamti. However, I and my brother grew very fond of her aamti, and till date, we remember her whenever we make this type of dal. Aamti + bhaat + toop = Heaven 😀

My simple yet delicious lunch of aamti, bhaat, toop and karela fry

Aamti bhaat with toop (ghee)

In those days, it was quite common to see neighbours drop by to share their culinary preparations with us. Be it the everyday aamti, exquisite puranpolis to home made masalas; sharing food was a popular way of expressing camaraderie. Borrowing too was quite common and a neighbour  eventually turned up every now and then at our house  with an empty vaati in her hand asking for saakhar (sugar), or salt, and also sometimes green chillies! Well, those memories are definitely cherished by me now when I live in a world of super convenience where every single thing gets delivered to my door step. I still remember how our immediate neighbour used to come to our house asking for a little helping of sambar when its aroma  wafted from our kitchen window over to her house. Those were the days of sharing and caring 🙂

The Marathi word for sour is ‘ambat’ and thats the origin of the word aamti. Well, aamti is a dal preparation which is supposed to be slightly sour and sweet. Some like it sour, some like it sweet but both the tastes are strictly required to make it a delectable dish.


Recipe:
  • Toor dal – 1 cup cooked and mashed
  • 1 small finely tomato chopped
  • Kokum concentrate* or tamarind pulp – 1 tsp or as per taste
  • Sugar or jaggery – as per taste
  • Goda masala – half to 3/4th of a tsp
  • Salt – to taste

For the tempering:
  • Peanut Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds – 1 small tsp
  • Hing – a pinch
  • Haldi – half a tsp
  • Chilly powder – half a tsp
  • Green chilly chopped – 1 to 2 or as per taste
  • Kadhi patta or curry leaves – 4 to 5 in number
Method:
Prepare the tadka and when the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the other ingredients under tadka and let their flavours seep in the oil for a minute or two. Immediately, then add the chopped tomatoes and let it get cooked for another couple of minutes. Then add the mashed toor dal along with the other condiments of sugar, kokum and salt. Add water to adjust the consistency and let it boil. Finally add the goda masala and again allow it to boil for another few minutes. Switch off the gas and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.
Note:
Kindly do not substitute goda masala with any garam masala, for that is the ingredient which imparts that authentic taste to this dish. One can add onions, ginger, peanuts to this dal as per their liking. Peanuts when added here should be boiled along with the dal initially.
*Make sure the Kokum concentrate has no sugar added to it.

One Reply to “Maharashtrian Aamti”

  1. Pingback: Ghee-The Ayurvedic Superfood | Travelarks

Leave a Reply